JJ Fox Campanile - WTF?

[bluegrassbrian]

So I'm having my first bowl of Campanile.
I've read lots of reviews and they are all over the place, from "smells and tastes like vomit" to "my favorite oriental mixture".

There's a fair amount of black leaf in here - what I would generally assume is either perique or latakia - but most everyone contends there is no latakia in this blend.

I don't get any latakia smokiness or leather per se, but I definitely taste that spicy (almost sandalwood) note, especially in the nose. It's a very familiar note from some of the more "oriental forward" English blends.

Does anyone know for sure or have an educated guess on precisely which varietal that is?

Before opening the tin I was assuming it would be similar to Wingfield Mixture with that unique "dark Virginia" note that is leathery and musty. It's not that at all though.

Interesting to note too, like many Euro tins, there's the Imported/Domestic tobacco ratio on the back label. For Campanile it is 99.8% Imported and 0.2% domestic!
Definitely the smallest percentage of domestic leaf I've seen.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Ok I'm convinced - this is definitely latakia.
They need to change their official blend description which states "no black tobaccos" are included.

 

[lestrout]

Yo blu - have you tried Orcilla? J,Fox and R.E.Lewis product lines parallel each other.

 

[kcghost]

Why do people persist in saying there is no latakia in this blend then?? Why do you firmly believe there is latakia? It seems like the manufacturer could get in trouble saying there isn't any latakia in their blend and you insisting there is.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

It's clear that this (and many others) blend changed dramatically when production switched to Germany. Many reviews are older - doesn't seem like a popular blend.